By
Akanta Hannah
The farmer-herder clashes over the years in Nigeria have been a source of concern, particularly in the North Central, North Eastern, and North Western axis of the country.
According to reports, these conflicts are triggered by competition over natural resources due to demographic growth, expansion of human settlements, privatisation of land, year-round farming practices, environmental degradation, and climate change among other reasons.
It is against this backdrop that the International Organisation for Migration, IOM (UN Agency) organised a two day dialogue session for key stakeholders aimed at finding lasting solutions to the farmer/herder clashes in Adamawa and Taraba states.
The meeting, which took place in Yola, is tagged: Contributing to the Mitigation of conflict over natural resources between farmer and herder communities in Adamawa and Taraba states, COMITAS.
Presenting an overview of the COMITAS policy, the facilitators, Aliyu Abdullahi and Bashir Umar Aliyu mentioned that the project is currently implemented in seven local government areas in Adamawa State which include: Lamurde, Numan, Demsa, Girei, Mayo Belwa, Guyuk, and Shelleng while in Taraba state it’s in Zing and Lau local government areas respectively.
They identified poverty, climate change, drug abuse, resource competition, and governance as some of the immediate causes of the farmer-herder clashes experienced in the affected communities.
The facilitators said the overall objectives of IOM is to step in with the support of the government, and other major actors to strengthen traditional conflict resolution mechanism, improve trust in authorities, enhanced collaboration in managing resources and improved intra and inter-communal perceptions of the affected areas.
Considering the successes recorded in the pilot locations, the facilitators said IOM is working towards extending the project to Toungo, Jada, Maiha, and Fofore local government areas of Adamawa state with Karim Lamido and Bali Local Governments in Taraba state.
During a robust discussion session, the COMITAS project manager, Amos Nderi, explained that the purpose of the dialogue was to collect views of stakeholders present, which would form part of COMITAS Action Plan, moving forward.
He explained that the project is funded by the European Union and is being implemented by IOM, Mercy Corps and Search for Common Ground to build socio cohesion by using existing traditional institutions and partnering with all other actors to achieve their goal of bridging peace.
Amos Nderi, while charging participants to take home recommendations that would aid the protection of their environment and tackle climate change, equally used the medium to thank the government for their continuous contributions and called on them to effect the Early warning-Early response system at the local and state government’s levels.